The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for pasteurizing dry food products. More particularly, the invention relates to such an apparatus and method which utilizes heated, moist air to both pasteurize and then dry the food products within a single pasteurization chamber or within separate steam and impingement zones of the pasteurization apparatus.
Dry foods comprise one of the largest categories of food commodities in the world. Due to the low water activity of these foods, microbes usually do not grow on their surfaces. However depending on how they are handled, processed, stored and transported, the opportunity does exist for these foods to become contaminated by pathogenic microorganisms such as Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria through contact with various media such as soil, water and air. As may be readily appreciated, such contamination could pose a serious health problem to consumers.